Difficulties are often encountered when transferring disabled persons from one location to another. Particularly in the case of wheelchair-bound persons, it is often quite difficult to lift and transfer such persons to and from their wheelchair from and to, for example, a motor vehicle. One or more persons are usually required to assist the disabled person.
There have been some inventive efforts directed at alleviating the problems associated with transferring disabled persons from one location to another. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,924 to Brigman et al. discloses a disabled person transfer device for transferring a disabled person from a wheelchair to a vehicle. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,459,891 to Reeve et al. discloses a hydraulically powered lift and transport apparatus for lifting and transporting wheelchair bound persons. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 6,223,364 to Egan discloses a multi-motion lifting and transferring apparatus for assisting persons when entering and exiting a vehicle.
Some of the aforementioned patents disclose devices which allow a disabled person to be lifted from a wheelchair or a bed and transferred to another location. However, the devices disclosed in these patents, as well as other known devices, have drawbacks in the areas of cost and complexity which could limit the potential mobility of a disabled individual. For instance, the disabled person transfer device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,924 requires extensive modifications to a vehicle as well as a modified wheelchair for use with the device. Also, the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,223,364 is incompatible with the functional and installation requirements of certain combinations of vehicles and users, in particular when a vehicle has a relatively small door opening and structural obstructions in the exit path of the seat, when users require extra legroom and a rearward motion of the seat prior to turning and exit. Further, the lift and transport apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,459,891 requires a remotely located hydraulic pump and 120 VAC current to power the various components of the apparatus. The Turny turning automotive seat product manufactured by Bruno Corporation in the United States overcomes certain legroom restrictions with a limited rearward motion prior to exiting. However, this product does not overcome many vehicle structures and other obstructions if the seat is exiting the vehicle. Similar drawbacks exist for other known lifting and transferring devices. For example, the lift and transport apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,862,287 has the disadvantage of a complex set multiple pivot points, which make it difficult to achieve structural stability while keeping within industry standard lift weight requirements.
The disabled consumer values legroom both for her or himself in front an adapted seat of and for the passenger behind the seat, the ability to recline the adapted seat, and the ability to retain the comfort of a factory seat, particularly without increasing overall height and thus reducing headroom and causing safety concerns in case of an accident. The obvious solution to these concerns is to locate the bulk of the up/down drive mechanism of an adapted seat in a space adjacent to the seat. This presents severe challenges as the design of modern vehicles favors larger seats in smaller vehicles and thus reduces empty space adjacent to the seats available for such a drive mechanism.
In view of the foregoing, it may be understood that there may be significant problems and shortcomings associated with current lifting and transferring apparatuses for assisting persons when entering and exiting a vehicle.